Brookline Bancorp completed its purchase of Bancorp Rhode Island in early January.

These results compare to the fourth quarter 2010 net income of $6.4 million, or $0.11 fully diluted earnings per share, and the net income for the third quarter 2011 of $6.3 million, or $0.11 fully diluted earnings per share. Net earnings from operations were $7.6 million, or $0.13 per fully diluted share, after adjustment for additional professional service fees, including merger-related expenses, of $499,000 (after-tax) associated with BankRI.

“Brookline Bancorp had an excellent year in 2011 and we are pleased with our financial performance as we continue to grow our loan portfolio and deposit base, while maintaining our solid credit quality,” said Paul A. Perrault, president and CEO of Brookline Bancorp. “We are very excited about the benefits that are expected from integrating First Ipswich and Bancorp Rhode Island into the company. Our further expansion into central New England should provide many additional service opportunities to further strengthen our position in a very competitive marketplace.”

Total assets at Dec. 31, 2011 were $3.3 billion, representing an increase of 21.3 percent from year-end 2010 and 4.5 percent from Sept. 30, 2011.

For the year ended Dec. 31, 2011, the company reported net income of $27.6 million, or $0.47 fully diluted earnings per share, compared to net income of $26.9 million, or $0.46 fully diluted earnings per share for the same period in 2010. Year-to-date net earnings from operations were $28.9 million, or $0.49 per fully diluted share, after adjustment for the increase in professional service fees, including merger-related expenses, of $1.3 million (after-tax) related to the acquisitions of First Ipswich Bancorp and Bancorp Rhode Island.

Total deposits were $2.3 billion at Dec. 31, 2011, up 24.4 percent from year-end 2010 and 3.3 percent from Sept. 30, 2011. Growth from year-end 2010 was driven by organic growth of 12.1 percent and the addition of $212.2 million in deposits from the First Ipswich acquisition. Transaction deposits (noncertificate of deposits) trends remained positive with growth of 41.9 percent from year-end 2010 and a 5.5 percent increase from Sept. 30, 2011.

The transaction deposit growth from Sept. 30, 2011, was driven primarily by demand deposit and money market accounts. For the three months ended Dec. 31, 2011, the average balance of transaction deposits rose to 63.8 percent of the average balance of total deposits compared to 53.7 percent at year-end 2010 and 62.4 percent from Sept. 30, 2011.

The company’s reduction in its investment securities portfolio from $304.5 million at Dec. 31, 2010, to $217.4 million at Dec. 31, 2011, is a result of limited investment opportunities in the market.

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